Getting a Handle on Creation

Sometimes, when I struggle with a life decision or a concept in Scripture, I pray, “Lord, open the door you want me to walk through.”

My daughter and son-in-love were praying this prayer with our grandson one night before bed, and this three-year-old pipes up, “And, Jesus, put a handle on the door!”

From the mouths of babes drop the greatest pearls of wisdom, right? How many times do we just need Jesus to put a handle on the door so we know which one to walk through? So many doors look alike, seem as good (or bad) as the next, and it would just be nice to have a God-given handle to know which one is right.

Getting a Handle on the Creation Debate

It’s been fun to dig into the Creation story with my co-host, Lyndsey Kirk, on our podcast, REAL PEOPLE, REAL GOD. But it’s also stirred up some of those age-old questions that scientists and Christians have debated for generations.

Did God create the earth and all that’s in it in seven literal twenty-four-hour intervals, or were the “seven days of Creation” simply seven symbolic movements in a symphony of God’s creative acts that spanned millions—even billions—of years?

I have my opinion on the matter, and I’m sure you have yours. What if we disagree? Can we still be friends? LOL! I hope so. 😉

This was one of those theological doors that I wanted God to put a handle on—to give me a little resolution on these very distinct interpretations. Recently, the “handle” came in the form of a guest speaker at my husband’s university.

House vs. Home

Dr. John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, offered a beautiful analogy that helped me understand how devout, Bible-believing scientists can unearth evidence of million-year-old fossils and still hold firmly to Scripture’s unbending truth. Walton used an analogy for the Creation story, explaining its two theories like two different professionals walking through a dwelling—a contractor describing it as a house and a realtor describing it as a home.

Let’s say these two professionals were hired to give you a tour of this same structure. They would describe it very differently, wouldn’t they? Because their purposes and goals are very different.

A contractor would focus on the furnace, the footings, and the foundation. The realtor would talk more about the decor, the living spaces, and maybe how your particular family would enjoy into each room.

Science is the contractor, describing Creation as the “house” with its specifications of carbon datings, fossils, etc. Scripture is the realtor, describing Creation as the “home” where life and relationship with God happens. If the contractor and realtor wrote reports about the same structure, their reports would vary considerably, right? Because their purpose, focus, and goal for writing would be completely different. So it is with science and Scripture, says Dr. Walton. They both seek to describe the origins of life but for different purposes and with different focus.

Open-Door Concept

The most important lessons I learned from Dr. Walton were to: 1) listen with an open heart and mind, and 2) respect my brothers and sisters-in Christ who agree or disagree with me on the non-essentials.

Jesus Christ is the center of the Gospel and my Savior through faith in His sacrifice. Almost everything else I can hold loosely and allow the Lord to show me open doors…and handles on those doors…when He knows I’m ready to walk through them.

What about you? Have you been praying for God to open doors (or maybe close them)? Why not try my grandson’s prayer—and ask Jesus to put a handle on it!?!